Machine Gun Kelly

Machine Gun Kelly Helped Introduce The NBA All-Star Lineups And Macy Gray And Earth, Wind & Fire Performed

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NBA All-Star Weekend is about the finest talent professional basketball has to offer, but some of the biggest names in music popped up during the festivities, too. DJ Khaled, Lil Wayne, Lil Baby, Gunna, Ludacris, Migos, and Mary J. Blige performed on Saturday, and yesterday’s actual All-Star Game featured more recognizable music figures taking the stage.

Machine Gun Kelly (who was born in Houston but spent some of his formative years in Cleveland, this year’s All-Star host city) helped introduce the game’s starting lineups by getting the crowd excited, thanking “all the hard workers of this town,” cracking a couple of jokes, and handing things over to DJ D-Nice before the team lineups were properly introduced. Kelly had his fingerprints all over the weekend, as he also played during the celebrity game.

Prior to tip-off, Juno Award nominee Ryland James sang the Canadian national anthem before Ohio native Macy Gray delivered a rendition of “The Star-Spangled Banner.” Some people online noticed LeBron James seemed amused by Gray’s performance, as he was seen seemingly trying to suppress a smile as she sang.

As for halftime, the mid-game break was mostly focused on a celebration of the 75th anniversary team, although it did feature Earth, Wind & Fire performing their thematically appropriate hit “Shining Star.”

Meanwhile, Adele was spotted courtside (which makes sense given her relationship with sports agent Rich Paul) and caught the attention of the TNT broadcast crew, which prompted Charles Barkley to reckon he and Adele ought to duet. Barkley’s co-hosts quickly and definitively shot that idea down.

Check out the musical highlights from the All-Star Game above.

MGK Is Apparently Taking His NBA All-Star Celebrity Game Selection VERY Seriously

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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.

All The 2022 Super Bowl Music Events That Aren’t The Halftime Show

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On February 13, a pretty large football game is happening, and in the middle of it, Eminem, Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Kendrick Lamar, and Mary J. Blige will perform the Super Bowl LVI Halftime Show. While those artists are the select few chosen to take the field at SoFi Stadium on the big day, the gravity of the Super Bowl means that there will be plenty of other music events taking place in the Los Angeles area during the weekend. We’ve rounded up the most major examples — which include performances by stars like Jack Harlow, Drake, Miley Cyrus, and many others, so check out the list below.

John Mayer Small Stage Series

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This one comes a few days before Super Bowl weekend, but if you happen to live in LA or plan to be in town a few days early on February 8, there’s an opportunity to swing by the Hollywood Palladium and see John Mayer perform some of his Sob Rock songs in front of a live audience for the first time. On top of that, the show is hosted by longtime Mayer pal Andy Cohen and will be preceded by an interview between the two. Even if you can’t check this one out in person, the show will be broadcast on various SiriusXM channels.

Bud Light Super Bowl Music Fest

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This annual event is perhaps the biggest non-halftime musical attraction of the weekend, or perhaps more so if duration is taken into consideration, as the festival runs for three days from February 10 to 12 at Crypto.com Arena. Halsey and Machine Gun will perform on the first day, and they’ll be followed by Blake Shelton, Gwen Stefani, and Mickey Guyton on the second night, then Miley Cyrus and Green Day will headline the third and final night. All in all, those artists make up a diverse roster that will have something to please just about anybody.

Shaq’s Fun House

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Shaq’s Fun House has become a Super Bowl weekend tradition in recent years, as Shaquille O’Neal takes the show around the country to wherever the big game ends up being played. This year, it’s going down at LA’s Shrine Auditorium & Expo Hall on February 11. The festival/carnival is set to feature performances from Shaq himself (as DJ Diesel), Lil Wayne, Zedd, and Diplo. On top of that, there’s going to be a full carnival, nightlife VIP experience, and a bunch of food vendors. The NBA great has one of the most infectious personalities in pop culture, so his Fun House is sure to be a terrific time.

MaximBet Music At The Market and DirecTC Presents Maxim Electric Nights

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DirecTV and Maxim are working together on a pair of events for the big weekend, both at City Market in Downtown Los Angeles. The first is MaximBet Music At The Market on February 11, which will feature Lil Baby, Gunna, and The Chainsmokers. The next day, they’re offering DirecTV Presents Maxim Electric Nights, a 50 Cent-hosted event that will feature Tiësto, Loud Luxury, and DJ Vice. All of this is going down in “a custom-built 45,000 square foot open-air pavilion representative of a 1980’s retro-futuristic setting.”

h.wood Group’s Homecoming Weekend

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While Drake isn’t part of the hip-hop-heavy halftime show (as far as we know, anyway), he will be making an appearance at the Pacific Design Center in West Hollywood on February 12. If you can get into this event, it’s bound to be a good one. That said, good luck with that, as it’s an invite-only affair.

Sports Illustrated The Party x Palm Tree Crew

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If you’re looking for a party featuring premiere hip-hop talent that you can actually attend, Sports Illustrated and Palm Tree Crew are bringing a nice lineup to Century Park on February 12. Performing at their event will be a good mix of talent that includes Kygo, Jack Harlow, Frank Walker, David Solomon (yes, the Goldman Sachs CEO/DJ), and DJ Irie.

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

Iann Dior, MGK And Travis Barker Have A New Collab That Interpolates Semisonic’s Cult-y ’90s Hit ‘Closing Time’

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Last week Iann Dior released a new album, On To Better Things, which follows up his massive 2020. Dior and 24kGoldn broke out in a huge way during the first year of the pandemic when their bratty hit “Mood” went all the way to No. 1 and stayed there for weeks, spawning a remix with Justin Bieber and J Balvin, and even landing Dior a guest spot on a remixed version of UK indie rockers Glass Animals own sleeper hit, “Heat Waves.”

But before all the buzz around “Mood,” Dior released his debut Industry Plant, back in 2019, and a couple EPs before sharing On To Better Things, a full-length album that officially follows up his debut. But over the course of his last few releases, Dior has been leaning way more into the pop-punk side of things (and recent trend) with several collaborations with Travis Barker, Machine Gun Kelly, or both. Dior even appeared on a song off MGK’s pivotal jump to pop-punk, Tickets To My Downfall.

So it’s not that surprising that there’s a song on Ian’s latest album that features both Barker and Machine Gun Kelly, but what is surprising is another credited artist on the track: Dan Wilson of the band Semisonic. You see this track, “Thought It Was,” which is the third single from the album, released just a few days before the full-length dropped, interpolates Semisonic’s cult-y 1998 hit “Closing Time” in the melody, an easter egg within the song that plenty of fans will notice upon close listen.

A couple listeners did notice and comment last week when the song first dropped:

And one of the song’s other co-writers, Kyle Reynolds, also weighed in to let listeners know they were hearing it right!

Given how many people love the original, could this be Ian’s next shot at a No. 1 single? Well, it’s only been a week, but who knows, ’90s nostalgia has been at an all time high lately, so there’s always a chance this one will take off like “Mood” did. Hopefully, TikTok will do its thing and give us a mashup of Dior’s new song and the ’90s classic. Check the new song out above, and for good measure, check out the original below.

Hip-Hop Diss Tracks That Are Better Than Songs They Respond To

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These clapbacks are better than the songs they responded to. Continue reading…

Frank Ocean Fans Are Very Unhappy With Machine Gun Kelly’s Cover Of ‘Swim Good’

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A new project from Frank Ocean has been on the horizon for years. Remember when he hinted at a new LP with his 2019 songs “DHL” and “In My Room“? Yeah, that never happened. Ocean’s fans were probably excited to see the musician’s name trending on Twitter Wednesday evening, presuming it be news about Ocean’s next release. So one can imagine their disappointment when they instead found a cover of “Swim Good” by none other than Megan Fox’s blood-drinking fiancé, Machine Gun Kelly.

Machine Gun Kelly has been very prolific when it comes to his own music, after having dropped his well-received Tickets To My Downfall and announcing yet another Travis Barker-produced album. But this week, the musician decided to take on Oceans’ Nostalgia, Ultra mixtape fan-favorite “Swim Good.” Machine Gun Kelly said it’s one of his “favorite” songs, and infused some of his now-signature pop-punk style into the cover. He also recorded a video to accompany the cover, which sees him wistfully singing the song against an ocean backdrop.

While Machine Gun Kelly was overjoyed to share the rendition, Ocean fans didn’t quite feel the same way. Sharing their disappointment about the cover on Twitter, people absolutely dunked on Machine Gun Kelly while taking it upon themselves to apologize to Ocean for his cover.

Listen to Machine Gun Kelly’s cover and see how Ocean fans reacted above.

Machine Gun Kelly Decided To Do A Pop-Punk Cover Of Frank Ocean’s ‘Swim Good’

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Machine Gun Kelly has been everywhere lately, whether it’s gracing magazine covers with his new romantic partner, Megan Fox, or getting engaged to her with some pretty weird rituals involved. Thorny engagement ring? Check. Anyway, after all the excitement around his personal life and relationship, MGK decided to get back to what he does best — helping his friend Pete Davidson talk about penis size.

Just kidding!

I meant music, and the pop-punk/rap star decided a cover was the way to get back into the game. He set himself up for a pretty big challenge, though, by deciding to cover Frank Ocean, who is such a beloved creative that he’s a very tough artist to do justice to. Tackling “Swim Good,” off Ocean’s Nostalgia, Ultra mixtape, which was the second single for the release, MGK gave the song a decidedly pop-punk twist. You know how every pop-punk album in the mid-2000s had to have at least one downtempo song with poignant lyrics and some barren acoustic strumming? That’s the direction Kelly went with this cover, departing from the lush production of the original.

Given the song’s fairly dark subject matter about failed love, it doesn’t totally make sense as a cover for a man who is madly in love with his new fiancé, but then again, little MGK does is logical in the first place. When he shared the cover today, Kelly called it “one of my favorite songs,” so clearly he has respect for Frank Ocean.

Check out the song above.