Well, that didn’t take long. Less than two hours after Kanye West posted on Instagram demanding that Billie Eilish apologize to his would-be Coachella special guest Travis Scott for her comments during a recent show, Eilish responded in the comments to notify West that she not only has no intentions of doing so but she also doesn’t have anything to apologize for.
Kanye, who, like many, interpreted Eilish’s recent comments as a dig at Travis Scott posted the all-caps demand after apparently coming across an Instagram gossip account’s report of the facts. “COME ON BILLIE WE LOVE YOU PLEASE APOLOGIZE TO TRAV AND TO THE FAMILIES OF THE PEOPLE WHO LOST THEIR LIVES NO ONE INTENDED THIS TO HAPPEN TRAV DIDN’T HAVE ANY IDEA OF WHAT WAS HAPPENING WHEN HE WAS ON STAGE AND WAS VERY HURT BY WHAT HAPPENED,” he wrote, before adding the threat, “NOW I NEED BILLIE TO APOLOGIZE BEFORE I PERFORM [at Coachella, where Billie is also set to headline].” This is the rockstar equivalent of getting skunked at pickup so you take your ball and go home, but Billie handled the situation as graciously as could be.
“Literally never said a thing about Travis,” she reminded the mercurial rapper. “Was just helping a fan.” This is, in fact, what she did, stopping her show mid-performance to ensure a fan who couldn’t breathe got an inhaler while noting, “I wait for people to be OK until I keep going.” Some construed this as a slight toward Travis Scott, who reportedly performed for nearly 40 minutes during the Astroworld mass casualty disaster, but anyone who’s been to enough shows can tell you this is something performers say quite a lot — I mentioned in my recap of 2019’s Real Street Fest that Kanye’s own former artist Big Sean did and said as much during his own set.
Billie Eilish responds to Kanye West asking her to apologize for allegedly dissing Travis Scott:
If Travis Scott’s feeling guilty, that’s on him to settle with his own conscience. And while Kanye is running around demanding apologies perhaps he should consider offering one of his own for the last five years he subjected us all to.
So far, Saweetie‘s had the most success with two kinds of singles. The first is throwback party jams like “Icy Grl,” “My Type,” and “Tap In,” fun tracks built on samples of 106 & Park staples that net the nostalgia of her peers (and the unfortunate derision of her elders). The second are songs in which her “icy girl” philosophy can be shared with a female companion, elevating women with the cheerful “girl power” themes of songs such as “Best Friend” and “Back To The Streets.”
Her newest single, which she teased earlier this week before releasing it today, falls into the latter category as she recruits HER to sing along on “Closer,” a flirtatious, dance-ready piece of disco pop reminiscent of her “Best Friend” collaborator Doja Cat’s big hits “Say So” and “Kiss Me More.” On “Closer,” the two performers — who share Bay Area roots and mixed Black-Filipino heritage — revel in the warm, fuzzy vibes of a new relationship. “It’s the freak in me I wanna show ya,” coos HER, while on her verse, Saweetie once again praises the benefits of her flashy lifestyle, sighing seductively, “Wanna quickie in my Rolls on the Hermes leather.”
The new track could be an indication that Saweetie finally deems her upcoming debut album, Pretty Bitch Music, fit for public consumption, as she’s held it back multiple times to make tweaks over the past year. If her perfectionist streak pays off, this could be the release that finally silences her haters once and for all — and if not, at least we’ve got another fun song to dance to on TikTok.
Check out Saweetie’s new single “Closer” featuring HER above.
It looks like Travis Scott is still headling Coachella after all — sort of. After the Houston rapper was dropped from the lineup following the mass casualty disaster at his own Astroworld Festival last summer, it appears he found a loophole to get back on the stage at Coachella (no, not that petition full of fake signatures): by joining Kanye West’s headlining set instead. Kanye appeared to confirm that he planned to bring out Travis in an Instagram post today, writing, “YES TRAV WILL BE WITH ME AT COACHELLA.”
However, there’s one other caveat: Fellow headliner (and Travis replacement) Billie Eilish must first apologize to Travis Scott for hurting his feelings. In Kanye’s all-caps post, he railed against Billie for her comments during one of her own recent shows, during which she stopped performing to get a distressed fan medical assistance. “I wait for people to be OK until I keep going,” she said. Some fans interpreted the statement as a shot at Travis, who reportedly continued performing for almost 40 minutes after authorities had declared a mass casualty event at Astroworld.
According to Kanye, “TRAV DIDN’T HAVE ANY IDEA OF WHAT WAS HAPPENING WHEN HE WAS ON STAGE AND WAS VERY HURT BY WHAT HAPPENED.” However, without an apology from Billie for… explaining herself, I guess… Kanye says, “I NEED BILLIE TO APOLOGIZE BEFORE I PERFORM.” I’m not sure there’s an opt-out clause in his performance agreement for being insulted by pop stars half his age. He also recently demanded an apology from the whole Kardashian family for his own antics, so maybe he’ll spend the extra sulking time figuring his life out.
XXL reports that the Los Angeles Police Department is investigating Charlotte rapper DaBaby for assault with a deadly weapon after a video surfaced online of the rapper and his companions attacking a man identified as Brandon Bills, the brother of DaBaby’s ex DaniLeigh. The fight, which took place at Corbin Bowl in Tarzana, California, saw DaBaby and his friends outnumbering and overwhelming Bills on the slippery bowling surface, kicking him after he fell on the floor.
Bills had confronted the rapper at the bowling alley three months after DaBaby and DaniLeigh had an altercation on Instagram Live in which DaBaby tried to dismiss the singer, who physically attacked him in response. The incident ended with DaniLeigh being charged with two counts of simple assault after DaBaby filed a police report from that incident and another taking place a day later. The two entertainers share an infant daughter.
The incident at the bowling alley is just the latest one in which DaBaby was accused of leading a physical assault with his friends. In February 2021, he was accused of jumping the owner of an Airbnb he’d rented after violating his rental agreement to shoot a music video there, while in December, he paid a penalty to avoid charges in a 2020 beating of a limo driver in Las Vegas.
There’s vomit on his sweater already — Mom’s spaghetti.
He’s nervous but on the surface he looks calm and ready To drop bombs but he keeps on forgetting…
It’s one of the most gripping opening stanzas in all of hip-hop history. It’s visual, visceral, and, in just a few syncopated syllables, shows Eminem’s mastery of the natural musicality of language. It’s such an effective opening that not only does it fill you in on the plot and story of the movie 8 Mile, you can practically taste B-Rabbit’s mom’s spaghetti (both as it goes down and as it comes up). But nothing about that opening line suggests that B-Rabbit’s mom has a handle on centuries worth of Italian culinary tradition.
Begging the question: Do we even want to try this dish?
The short answer is “yes.” Last September, Em and Curt Callo and Ann Stevenson (of Union Joints Restaurant Group), launched the 8 Mile-themed Mom’s Spaghetti in Detroit and absolutely crushed it. Em himself even made an appearance at the service window. So it’s not shocking that as the legend pulls up to LA for the Super Bowl halftime show, he’s bringing his mom’s spaghetti with him for another pop-up.
This Super Bowl weekend (starting today), diners will be able to try the Mom’s Spaghetti concept via Postmates — or in-person at a pop-up — housed at Uncle Paulie’s Deli in DTLA — while supplies last. Items on the full menu include a simple plate of parmesan-dusted spaghetti, toasted garlic bread, beef and vegan meatballs, and the S’ghetti sandwich (a favorite straight out of Eminem’s real-life upbringing). Postmates will also be holding a sweepstakes that offers ten people the chance to score a limited-edition jar of Mom’s Spaghetti Sauce, signed by Em himself.
Before you throw down your money on Mom’s Spaghetti, you’re going to want to know if it’s any good — so we tried the whole menu for you! But not before asking co-owner Curt Catallo and Chef Chris Springer some questions about what to expect.
“Mom’s spaghetti” almost sounds like slander in Lose Yourself. But I’d imagine this is a classic Spag Bol or what Italians would call a Bolognese or NY Italians would call ‘Sunday Gravy?’
Catallo:
I think the reason why that line connects in such an incredible way is that everyone knows that spaghetti reference… it could be Rabbit’s mom or anyone else’s… we’ve all had it. And I don’t think it’s slander, we’ve all been nervous before going into battle!
Springer:
The standard sauce is straight — like a jar sauce but totally scratch. We have the bolognese in Detroit, because Em’ asked for one.
What was your experience with that type of sauce and how did you develop this recipe?
Catallo: We started making the sauce in ‘17 for the Revival Pop-Up at the Shelter (in Saint Andrews) and took it to Coachella.
Springer: We worked with Paul Rosenberg and their crew to dial it in along the way. We had a big tasting and perfected it right when the pandemic hit, literally eating Mom’s when they canceled March Madness, and locked the recipe.
What hallmarks do you want the sauce to have? Is there a ‘Detroit style’ to this type of sauce or is it pretty much NY style? Or even true Italian?
Catallo: What we were going after for Paul and Marshall was a sauce that was totally straightforward and legit. It’s not my grandma’s sauce because it’s not supposed to be. Mom’s is a classic, straight red sauce.
Eminem’s raps always seemed to paint the sort of world where people would overcook pasta — do you keep things al dente?
Springer: When we make Mom’s we want it to taste like it’s an incredible leftover when you get it. We cook all the spaghetti ahead of time and reheat it in a wok with sauce to order. It gives it a snap.
Spaghetti w/ Balls/Vegan Balls
Dane Rivera
As Catallo alluded to, the Mom’s Spaghetti concept is less about offering a gourmet experience and more about capturing the flavor of delicious leftovers. Like when you pour through the door after a late night, half-buzzed and half-asleep from your midnight adventures, crack open the fridge, and dive into carb-loaded comfort food. I’m happy to say that it completely captures that magic. From the take-out style packaging to the reheated wok noodles, this stuff tastes good and is as much a people-pleaser as “Lose Yourself.”
The appropriately juvenilely named Spaghetti with Balls is Mom’s Spaghetti’s main menu item. It can be ordered solo, or with beef or vegan meatballs. The spaghetti itself does have that snap to it that Springer mentioned, looking at the dish I was fully expecting soggy noodles that would turn to mush in my mouth, but I was surprised to find a pleasing firm-but-chewy texture to them.
Dane Rivera
The sauce was another surprise, it smells incredibly pungent — the garlic fills your immediate surroundings and that’s not a pure compliment! But the sauce does its job, it keeps the noodles interesting, and adds a lot of brightness and some complex savory umami qualities. It’s delicious, not life-changing but altogether makes for a dish worth ordering — especially with the garlic toast that it’s served alongside.
The meatballs, both beef, and vegan are a lot more forgettable. I’m not sure if this was a result of losing some flavor in transit, but both the beef and vegan balls were a bit on the dry side. Not to the point of being inedible, but entirely skippable. The beef meatball was the juicier of the two, and featured a nice savory balance of salt, garlic, and peppery flavor.
Dane Rivera
The vegan balls also had a good flavor, if a bit drier. They were much more noticeably plant-y and featured a spicier onion-forward flavor. If you need the protein to complete the meal, go for whichever ball sounds better for you, but I think you’re better off just ordering the spaghetti on its own.
Or, better yet, opt for this next option…
S’getti Sandwich
Dane Rivera
When I first saw the S’getti sandwich I thought it was kind of dumb (carbs on carbs!). Then I realized that when I’m eating spaghetti leftovers, I’m usually utilizing the garlic bread in exactly this way. This sandwich isn’t the dumb one, it’s me!
Putting spaghetti on top of your garlic toast is a delicious experience, and Mom’s Spaghetti just builds it for us. This is the essential order from the pop-up. It combines the best of what the restaurant concept offers — the buttery garlic french toast, which is crunchy but soft on the inside, and the snappy bright noodles — and further elevates both with a slice of delicately salty melted mozzarella. It’s last night’s pasta plus a grilled cheese sandwich. Delicious and genius!
The dish has a great mouthfeel, it’s crispy and crunchy, chewy, but not mushy, and features a savory garlic flavor that settles on the palate nicely. B-Rabbit never rapped about his mom’s S’getti sandwich, but he damn sure should have!
The Bottom Line:
Order the S’getti sandwich. It doesn’t conjure up nostalgia for 8-Mile but it’s legitimately delicious and deserves a spot alongside your other Super Bowl food favorites this weekend. Also, for true stans of Em, it’s a dish he actually ate when he was a young kid, more like B-Rabbit than the modern Eminem we know today. And that’s pretty cool.
Last May, it was reported that Megan Thee Stallion had teamed up with Snapchat for a new pet-centric show, Off Thee Leash With Megan Thee Stallion, and now, with the help of a massive billboard and her ever-popular Instagram, Meg’s revealed the show’s premiere date: February 19.
According to Snapchat’s description, Megan will be “joined by celebrity friends and their pets hosted in a way that only Megan can.” The new billboard offers some more hints; not only will Meg’s super-popular French bulldog 4oe (pronounced “foe”) make an appearance (of course), but apparently, there will also be a broader range of pets, including a llama (although to whom llama belongs remains a mystery).
The show will be just one of Meg’s future forays into TV and film, as she also signed a first-look production deal with Netflix in December. The deal reportedly includes the potential for both shows and movies, like the horror film she’s been writing or the anime she’s fond of, so fans can look forward to the fruits of that development.
In the meantime, the Houston Hottie has been showing off her acting chops in the rollout for her Flamin’ Hot Cheetos Super Bowl ad, which we’ll finally see in entirety on Sunday. It also includes a tie-in with her latest song, “Flamin’ Hottie,” an ode to her favorite snack.
With some Super Bowl halftime performances, the issue is a lack of appeal. Here’s looking at you, Maroon 5. With others, it’s a generational gap. What’s up, The Who? Other times, though, the team behind the scenes nail the selection. I hope Katy Perry and that shark are doing well. With the coming show set for Super Bowl LVI, the main problem that seems to be percolating is how, exactly, Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Eminem, Mary J. Blige, and Kendrick Lamar will all have enough time to go through a hit or two. The performances generally run about 12-15 minutes, so that gives each artist two and a half to three minutes to run through hits, collaborations, and unexpected surprises. It’s going to take creativity to build a balanced, nuanced set, but here’s how they might do it.
In 2021, The Weeknd managed to squeeze in nine songs during his allotted time, and relied on cinematic tricks and off-stage pre-recorded shoots to turn his performance into a cinematic statement on the After Hours era. He was the first artist since Lady Gaga in 2017 to perform without any guests or surprise acts, which was mildly surprising considering his star power when compared to some of his predecessors. For 2022, it’s not likely any guests will be used for songs by the featured artists, as there’s simply not enough time to give anyone else the mic, unless that person is a hologram of 2Pac (though a 50 Cent rumor is bubbling). Speaking of, the best way for the set to end would be for Snoop, Dre, Kendrick, and 3-D Shakur to drop “California Love,” perhaps the greatest ode to the state ever recorded to tape, and one that would honor football returning to football, both with the Super Bowl and the home team Rams making the big game.
The most intriguing question outside of how they’re going to pull this thing off is what song the quintet will begin with. The show is Dr. Dre’s. All artists are affiliated with him, he’s the godfather of the group and the artist who made the initial announcement. But, is there a better Super Bowl pump-up song than Eminem’s “Lose Yourself”? It seems like the perfect way to fire up a crowd, though it does leave Em alone to begin the performance. That’s why the safest bet is an early cut from Dre and Snoop, and we’re putting our money on either “Nuthin’ But a ‘G’ Thang” or “Still D.R.E.” The former features Snoop more prominently, but the latter may be the more recognizable of the two among mainstream audiences, and Snoop can always serve as the world’s most overqualified hype man.
The best comparison to this show may be Shakira and Jennifer Lopez’s performance from 2020. Shakira took the first set, running through seven hits, before J-Lo got six of her own. For the last two, they dueted on “Let’s Get Loud” and “Waka Waka (This Time From Africa).” We will probably see a similar structure this year, with each artist getting to perform snippets of two songs before coming together for a grand finale.
In our scenario, Dre leads off with “Still D.R.E.” before surprising with a late-era hit, perhaps “Animals” from Compton, with a drum performance from Anderson .Paak thrown into the mix. He’ll end his featured set with a nod to diehard fans by offering “Nuthin’ But a ‘G’ Thing.” From there, Snoop will segue his verse into his own section of the show, repping his LA credentials as the face of the city. We’re looking at “Gin N Juice” as the intro to get the party started (if Snoop doesn’t cut it), before trying to shoehorn in a new song, regrettably choosing something from his latest album, The Algorithm. After all, this is a promotional tool first and a concert second. Snoop will wrap things up with a clear hit, but one more recognizable for casual watchers at home, performing “Drop It Like It’s Hot” before Mary J. Blige comes to bring some R&B goodness. “Family Affair” seems like the logical place to start for Mary, as the event is, you know, a family affair. Mary, too, has an album coming out February 11th, so look for her to sandwich something from Good Morning Gorgeous in between two hits. “Be Without You” is a good place to end, with the low-key anthem giving way to the crisp guitars of Eminem’s “Lose Yourself.”
Em has the most connections to each of these artists outside of Dre, so look for him to drop “The Real Slim Shady” before giving his mentor Dre the nod by going into “Forgot About Dre.” It’d be an epic moment, protege and student on stage together, reminding fans why they’ll never be forgotten. This leads the way to Kendrick Lamar, who though there are rumors of a new album coming, will stick to classics and help the group segue into the grand finale. Perhaps he’ll start with “HUMBLE.” or “Backseat Freestyle,” anything to keep the energy moving after a long, knotty performance. Though To Pimp A Butterfly is his most acclaimed project, its neo-jazz flavor doesn’t quite fit the theme of the performance, so perhaps he’ll look towards a radio hit from good kid m.A.A.d city like “Swimming Pools (Drank).” Kendrick’s logical closer is the good kid bonus cut, “Compton,” which features none other than Dr. Dre.
The finale is the hardest section of the show to map out, just because there are so many remaining options to pool from. Maybe they go with a deep cut like Snoop and Dre’s “Deep Cover,” an ode to Los Angeles that real heads will be giddy about hearing. Or maybe the finale is where the group brings out guests. YG, ScHoolboy Q, and Baby Keem come to mind. Maybe they go with an unaffiliated yet nevertheless celebrated star-like Ice Cube to perform “Today Was a Good Day.” Regardless, the first track of the finale is likely to be a California anthem, which is why Dre may save “Nuthin’ But A ‘G’ Thang” for the closer. Regardless of what the group pulls out for the penultimate track, though, it’s hard to imagine them closing the show with anything outside of a massive shoutout to the home state of Dre, Kendrick, and Snoop. Regardless of what happens throughout this exciting, unpredictable event, all roads lead to “California Love,” one of Dr. Dre’s best productions of all time, and a fitting finale to a show paying homage to Compton, Long Beach, and everywhere else in the City of Angels.
Setlist:
“Still D.R.E.”
“Animals”
“Gin N Juice”
New Snoop Song Snippet
“Drop It Like It’s Hot”
“Family Affair”
New Mary J Song Snippet
“Be Without You”
“Lose Yourself”
“The Real Slim Shady”
“Forgot About Dre”
“HUMBLE.
“Swimming Pools (Drank)”
“Compton”
Potential 50 Cent Guest Appearance
“California Love”
Australian rapper Masked Wolf is enjoying the success of his 2021 sleeper hit “Astronaut In The Ocean,” but he brought a different song to the UPROXX Sessions stage, injecting a little “Pandemonium” into his performance. Having already proven himself a capable performer in the past, his comfort level here reveals a veteran who is just getting started.
Masked Wolf has been going strong since 2018 when he debuted with the single “Speed Racer” on Teamwrk Records, where he released a string of solid singles, including “Astronaut In The Ocean.” “Astronaut” became his signature hit after becoming a viral favorite on TikTok, where it has soundtracked over 7.5 million videos to date. Its success there prompted its re-release in 2021, which led to it being certified 3x Platinum in its home country, and 2x Platinum here in the US, where it peaked at No. 6 on the Hot 100. Masked Wolf followed up with the release of his debut album Astronomical last September and will undoubtedly look to build on that success in 2022.
Watch Masked Wolf’s UPROXX Sessions performance of “Pandemonium” above.
UPROXX Sessions is Uproxx’s performance show featuring the hottest up-and-coming acts you should keep an eye on. Featuring creative direction from LA promotion collective, Ham On Everything, and taking place on our “bathroom” set designed and painted by Julian Gross, UPROXX Sessions is a showcase of some of our favorite performers, who just might soon be yours, too.
Kendrick Lamar has a history of dropping new music in a live setting. Well, sort of… Back in 2014, when producer Flying Lotus closed out LA’s FYF Festival Lawn Stage on Sunday night, he dropped the Kendrick Lamar collaboration “Never Catch Me” for the first time ever in the middle of his performance, set to a dizzying three-dimensional visual display. For those who were there, it was a sublime moment hearing what would soon become one of the best tracks of the year. But back then, Kendrick Lamar wasn’t in attendance and his voice on the track more than did all the heavy lifting. Now at this Sunday’s Pepsi Super Bowl Halftime Show, when he takes the stage alongside Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Eminem, and Mary J. Blige at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, things could look a lot different.
According to radio host Ebro Darden, who co-hosts Apple Music’s Rap Life Review, Lamar might very well have a new song out in time to perform it on the biggest of all stages. In yesterday’s episode, Darden and co-hosts Nadeska and Lowkey were speculating about a new single from the “Humble” rapper when Darden begins to speak on what he’s just been informed. “What I’m reading here provided by our producer Sasha… the way this reads, it sounds like it’s confirmed that we will get a single from Kendrick Lamar before his performance,” Darden begins. “It says: ‘With the release of his single to be debuted ahead of his performance, what we know so far is that his next project will be the last project that he will release under Top Dawg Entertainment,’ which, we already knew that.”
It sounds like a press release was sent to the popular hip-hop show to put the information out there ahead of the Super Bowl and that come Sunday, Lamar could indeed be playing the song on stage.
Coi Leray has yet to capitalize on her breakout 2021, although that could change in the near future thanks to her new song “Anxiety.” The single from her upcoming debut has helped her gain traction after her breakout 2021 singles “No More Parties” and “Twinnem” brought her quirky approach to a mainstream audience. Today, she dropped the single’s surreal music video, which could raise its profile and go a long way toward earning her some much-deserved respect.
In the video, Coi is terrorized by a mischievous personification of the feeling of anxiety, portrayed by a flexible dancer in a houndstooth-patterned, bodysuit, complete with horns and a penchant for causing destruction. In a series of related vignettes, the evil imp upends a meal, forces another young woman to drink a whole bottle of wine, and demolishes a third woman’s bedroom, echoing the disruptive effects anxiety can have and the extreme measures some folks take to self-medicate.
Coi’s addressed her mental health through music on other singles, including “Medicine,” while fending off critics for the past year who criticized everything from her body to her passing resemblance to Dej Loaf. Hopefully, she can find a little peace of mind amid the bustle of becoming a star because she may only get bigger from here.
