Music

Lil Nas X Calls Out The BET Awards For Giving Him ‘An Outstanding Zero Nominations’ For Its 2022 Show

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Lil Nas X 64th Annual Grammy Awards 2022
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The BET Award nominations for 2022 were revealed today and fans had plenty of thoughts about who was selected for the upcoming show. Noticeably missing from the nominees was Lil Nas X, who had two Billboard chart-topping hits last year with “Montero (Call Me By Your Name)” and “Industry Baby,” which featured Jack Harlow. He also had another top-10 hit with “That’s What I Want.”

Fans noticed that Harlow, who received his first No. 1 single with “Industry Baby,” received a nomination for Best Male Hip-Hop Artist, and they immediately called out BET. “Jack Harlow got a BET award nom and Lil Nas X didn’t? During pride month? During Black Music History month? Is that what I’m seeing?,” said Twitter user @Tendurag.

Lil Nas X responded to the nominations in the most Lil Nas X way possible. “Thank you bet awards,” he said in a now-deleted tweet. “An outstanding zero nominations again. black excellence!”

lil nas x tweet thank you bet
via twitter

He later clarified that it wasn’t the lack of nominations that peeved him, but rather the lack of representation of Black and queer artists.

“I just feel like black gay ppl have to fight to be seen in this world,” he said in another deleted tweet, “and even when we make it to the top mfs try to pretend we are invisible.”

lil nas x tweet invisible
via Twitter

The 2022 BET Awards will air Sunday, June 26 at 8 p.m. EST / 7 p.m. CST on BET.

Jack Harlow is a Warner Music Artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

Kendrick Lamar’s ‘We Cry Together’ Had One Of The Biggest Single-Week Drops In ‘Billboard’ Hot 100 History

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Kendrick-Lamar.jpg
Philip Cosores

Kendrick Lamar’s Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers set some records after its release last month. For what it’s worth, that shouldn’t be surprising as his loyal fan base spent five years waiting on a new body of work from him. For example, Kendrick broke Apple Music’s record for the most first-day streams by an album that was released in 2022. Shortly after its release, Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers also had the biggest debut on the Billboard 200 chart in 2022. A few weeks later, Kendrick had a rare occurrence with one of his songs on the Billboard chart, and it’s not one we might have expected from him.

XXL notes that Kendrick’s “We Cry Together,” which features contributions from actress Taylour Paige, fell down a total of 81 spots — from No. 16 to No. 97 — between the May 24 and May 31 updates of the Billboard Hot 100. This makes for one of the biggest single-week drops ever on the song chart. However, it’s not the biggest that we’ve seen from a song in the past couple of years.

Back in 2020, Mariah Carey’s “All I Want For Christmas” went from topping the singles chart one week to completely falling off the Hot 100 the following week. Despite this, the track would go on to become the first song to be No. 1 in four separate years after it originally topped the charts in 2019 and did so again in 2021 and 2022.

On the bright side for Kendrick, his 2012 album Good Kid M.A.A.D. City recently became the only hip-hop studio album to spend 500 weeks on the Billboard 200 chart.

Kendrick Lamar’s ‘We Cry Together’ Records The Biggest Single-Week Drop In ‘Billboard’ Hot 100 History

by
Kendrick-Lamar.jpg
Philip Cosores

Kendrick Lamar’s Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers set some records after its release last month. For what it’s worth, that shouldn’t be surprising as his loyal fan base spent five years waiting on a new body of work from him. For example, Kendrick broke Apple Music’s record for the most first-day streams by an album that was released in 2022. At the time of its release, Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers had the biggest debut on the Billboard 200 chart in 2022. A few weeks later, Kendrick set a new record on the Billboard chart, but it’s not one we might have expected from him.

According to the publication, Kendrick’s “We Cry Together,” which features contributions from actress Taylour Paige, recorded the biggest single-week drop on the most recent edition of the Billboard 200 chart. The record dropped down a total of 81 spots — from No. 16 to No. 97 — between the May 24 and May 31 updates of the singles chart.

This big drop shouldn’t be surprising for a couple of reasons. First, B-side records on an album typically experience a big drop on the charts once the hype behind the album that they’re on dies out. Other songs from Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers have also experienced this. They include “Silent Hill” with Kodak Black which dropped from No. 7 to No. 49 in the past couple of weeks. Secondly, “We Cry Together” is a lengthy skit on Kendrick’s new album and it features the rapper in an extremely heated argument with his girlfriend, something that most listeners found uncomfortable to listen to. As a result, they most likely steered away from the record during future listens of Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers thus launching the song down the singles chart.

On the bright side, Kendrick’s Good Kid M.A.A.D. City recently became the only hip-hop studio album to spend 500 weeks on the Billboard 200 chart.

Normani Celebrates Her Birthday With A Golden Bikini Photo Shoot In Cabo

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Normani
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Normani seems to have a knack for timing her new music drops with racy photo shoots on her Instagram feed. Back in March, the “Wild Side” singer posed completely naked on a couch while explaining the inspiration behind her single “Fair,” which came out four days later. “This song really captures me in one of my most vulnerable moments,” she commented back then.

Now just two days after indicating that her next single is called “Candy Paint,” Normani donned a golden bikini in idyllic Palmilla, Los Cabos, Mexico for a series of photos on Instagram. Pretty smart marketing? Sure. But we’ll give her a pass, because Normani’s post was in celebration of her 26th birthday. “Just feeling sooooo grateful today,” she commented. “Thank you lord for twenty six years around the sun. it’s y’all favorite bad bitch birthdaaaaaaaaay.” The shoot moved from a swank pad, to a boat, to a beachside hut.

Meanwhile Normani and Sam Smith recently came under fire when a copyright infringement claim was filed over their mega hit “Dancing With A Stranger.” The songwriters behind Jordan Vincent’s largely unknown electropop song “Dancing With Strangers alleged that, “The hook/chorus in both songs — the most significant part and artistic aspect of these works — contains the lyrics ‘dancing with a stranger’ being sung over a nearly identical melody and musical composition.”

Big KRIT Hits The ‘Rhode Clean’ In His Silky New Video

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Big KRIT dropped off the latest video supporting his album Digital Roses Don’t Die today (June 1) for “Rhode Clean.” The ’80s-inspired visual directed by Thang Ho opens with an exquisitely dressed woman doing a brief stand-up comedy set before introducing the Mississippi rapper, who comes onto the stage dressed pretty sharply himself. From there, he delivers a performance of the record accompanied by a live band. The video continues showing flashes of luxury vehicles, other attendees dressed to the nines, and KRIT eventually makes his way outside to rap while flanked by women sitting atop one of the cars. It’s a special affair.

“Rhode Clean” follows the “So Cool” music video that was released back in January, leading into the February release of Digital Roses Don’t Die. The 17-song album’s sole feature was Rolynne and is the 35-year-old’s fifth studio album following 2019’s KRIT Iz Here. Big KRIT left the Def Jam label in 2016, and has since launched his own record label, Multi Alumni. The first release under Multi Alumni was his third studio album, 2017’s 4eva Is A Mighty Long Time, which debuted at No. 7 on the Billboard 200 chart.

Check out the smooth new video for “Rhode Clean” above.

Jack Harlow And Drake Take In The Kentucky Derby For Their New ‘Churchill Downs’ Video

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It was unsurprising to see Jack Harlow at the 2022 Kentucky Derby back on May 7, given that he’s a proud Louisville native and his new album, Come Home The Kids Miss You, has a song called “Churchill Downs,” named after the famous venue where the storied horse race has been held for nearly 150 years now (this year’s race was the 148th). He and Drake (who features on the song) made some noise at the event, whether it was Harlow getting carried around, Harlow trying to match Drake’s bets, or Drake crashing a Harlow interview.

It turns out that while the pair was there, they also shot a video for their collaboration, which was shared today. Along with B-roll of race attendees, the event atmosphere, and running horses, the video is mostly clips of Harlow and Drake rapping at the camera and otherwise enjoying the event. The clip actually also includes a bit of footage of Harlow in a baseball bat factory, presumably that of Louisville Slugger (or at least at a different factory but in reference/homage to the esteemed bat brand).

Watch the “Churchill Downs” video above.

Jack Harlow is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

Ckay Teaches Us ‘Pidgin English For Dummies’

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ckay nigerian
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One of the rising trends in pop music has been the explosion in the popularity of international music in America, especially Nigerian Afropop (also known by the confusing moniker “Afrobeats” or by Burna Boy‘s chosen appellative, “Afrofusion”). But as international music becomes more mainstream stateside, one barrier still remains in bridging the gap between America and the world — namely, the language barrier. Thanks to stars singing in their native languages of Spanish, Korean, and three or four Nigerian dialects, being a music fan is starting to mean becoming a polyglot.

Fortunately, Nigerian star Ckay is more than willing to help his growing US audience learn his favorite Igbo phrases. He recently stopped by the Uproxx Studios in LA to help give us a “Pidgin English for Dummies” lesson on TikTok with the help of Uproxx’s own Cherise Johnson. Check out the video below, where Ckay explains “nwantiti” — as in, his hit song “Love Nwantiti” — “mezebu,” and “wahala.” He even shows us how to use them in a sentence, mixing English and Igbo for some useful phrases that can help unlock the infectious grooves of Afropop with a little more context for those of us who didn’t grow up on jollof and moi moi.

@uproxx

@ckay_yo showing us the way and teaching us #igbo 😆💖 #fyp #ckay #emiliana #afrobeats #rnbvibes #uproxx #summervibes

♬ original sound – UPROXX Music

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

Lil Durk Is Hitting The Road On ‘The 7220 Deluxe’ Tour Across The US

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Last month, Lil Durk announced the Deluxe edition of his album 7220. The first drop of the album which came out in March had already topped the Billboard 200 multiple times. Consequently, 2020’s The Voice just reached Platinum status so the Chicago rapper is capitalizing on a lot of steam behind, well, everything he does right now, and just announced The 7220 Deluxe Tour to support the deluxe drop.

He’ll be warming up by headlining the Hot 97 Summer Jam with Fivio Foreign and Lil Baby on June 12th at MetLife Stadium. Then in September, The 7220 Deluxe Tour takes off across the country. It starts on September 17th at The Criterion in Oklahoma City and ends on the West Coast with dates at the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium in San Francisco and Seattle’s WAMU Theater.

Tickets for Lil Durk’s The 7220 Deluxe Tour go on sale Friday, June 3rd at 11 a.m. local time here.

09/17 — Oklahoma City, OK @ The Criterion
09/18 — Little Rock, AR @ Simmons Bank Arena
09/20 — Milwaukee, WI @ BMO Harris Pavilion
09/21 — Louisville, KY @ Iroquois Amphitheater
09/25 — Portsmouth, VA @ Atlantic Union Bank Pavilion
09/28 — Philadelphia, PA @ The Met Philadelphia
09/30 — Brooklyn, NY @ Coney Island Amphitheater
10/02 — Baltimore, MD @ Pier Six Pavilion
10/03 — Washington, DC @ Echostage
10/05 — Nashville, TN @ Nashville Municipal Auditorium
10/06 — Birmingham, AL @ Oak Mountain Amphitheatre
10/07 — Southaven, MS @ Landers Center
10/12 — Los Angeles, CA @ Hollywood Palladium
10/14 — San Francisco, CA @ Bill Graham Civic Auditorium
10/17 — Seattle, WA @ WAMU Theater

Denzel Curry Recruits Key Glock For A ‘Walkin’ Remix From A Rumored Deluxe Edition Of His Album

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Denzel Curry’s Melt My Eyez, See Your Future has been out for a little over two months now, and it’s considered in some circles to be among the best albums of the year. Now, after declaring himself the “best rapper alive,” he’s keeping the hype train rolling with a remix of his album’s lead single “Walkin” featuring one of Memphis’ hottest rising rappers, Key Glock. The new version of the song is said to appear on an upcoming deluxe version of Melt My Eyez which will also feature Denzel’s frequent collaborator, IDK.

Key Glock’s new verse finds the Memphis rapper ruminating on similar concepts to Denzel’s. He shares his philosophy of persistence in the face of adversity, which especially resonates in light of the recent murder of Young Dolph, one of Glock’s biggest supporters and best friends.

Denzel’s collection of collaborations has been growing lately, as in addition to teaming up with Slowthai and T-Pain on singles from his own album (“Zatoichi” and “Troubles,” respectively), Denzel also appeared on recent songs from Sampa The Great (“Lane“) and IDK (“Dog Food“). Denzel is also listed among the contributors to the upcoming soundtrack for Baz Luhrmann’s Elvis. Whether he’s the best rapper remains up for debate, but there’s no question that lately, he’s certainly been one of the busiest.

Listen to the “Walkin” remix above.

Mary J. Blige’s Strength Of A Woman Festival Aims To Be The Next Great Cultural Fest For Black Women

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Mary J Blige Strength of a Woman Festival 2022
Getty Image/Ralph Ordaz

As a cultural icon, Mary J. Blige has accomplished so much in music (hello, Time100 Most Influential People of 2022 list) and on TV (don’t forget about “Monet” on Power). Now, the Queen of Hip Hop Soul has spearheaded her own inaugural festival set to take place only in Atlanta; an idea she brought to Pepsi right after she performed at the Super Bowl this year.

“It’s the Strength Of A Woman Festival,” Mary told Uproxx in an interview. “We’re bringing all women together in Atlanta, where all the fans reside, and just sharing information and uplifting and empowering women.”

And, the experience was nothing short of spectacular. A loving sense of connectedness and warmth was present as many exciting events took place over that Mother’s Day weekend. It was a celebration that involved enriching attendees with meaningful panels during the day and, at night, live performances from the newer generation of artists like Baby Tate and City Girls and legacy acts such as 90s R&B group Xscape — and of course, Ms. Blige herself.

Everything was so well thought out, it was surprising to learn that the idea wasn’t something Mary and her team were planning for a while. According to the PepsiCo president of Multicultural Business and Equity Development and creator of Pepsi Stronger Together, Derek Lewis, they only had 10 weeks to make it happen with the goal for women “…to feel really inspired to go do greater work in whatever field they’re in personally and professionally.”

“The entertainment part obviously is tremendous, but for me — I really give a lot of credit to Mary and her team about their vision for this event — I would classify this as entertainment with a purpose,” Lewis proclaimed during our chat. “We are going to have massive engagement, entertainment, and excitement from an experience standpoint with the music, but it goes beyond that.”

“It was something that just came to us,” Blige explained. “Like, why don’t we do this? Because when we go to the Essence Festival, people are like, ‘I’m going to see Mary.’ So we’re like, ‘Hmm, well, let me just get my own festival and have everyone come to that festival every year.’”

For this to be the event’s first run, it was one of the smoothest conference-style festivals I have ever attended, while still having room to improve and expand each year. Especially with the Black-owned food trucks (shoutout to Fowl Play for holding it down with the lemon pepper wet hot wings) and empowering panels. I also loved the fact that I was able to enjoy Mother’s Day with my mom, who practically raised me on Blige’s music, while still being able to turn up to City Girls. Balance.

Mary has always been a great example of what the strength of a woman is all about. She has shown us what it means to overcome adversity while coming out on top and what it looks like embrace every enriching you want to do.

“Do not be held in a box,” she offered as advice when I asked how a person can achieve this. “Do what it is you want to do. Don’t let people tell you who you are. Know who you are and don’t be afraid of that. It takes confidence to get to the point where you’re not listening to every little word, and social media doesn’t help. Forget social media for a second. Be honest with yourself.”

Guidance like this is why being there for Mary was a no-brainer for “I Am” artist and festival performer Baby Tate.

“I think the entirety of my career has been based around the strength of women and making sure to remind women of their strength, and empower them through my music,” Tate told me after her performance. “It feels amazing to be on this lineup with so many women that I look up to, and that I am inspired by, and that empowers me when I listen to their music. It’s just great to be here.”

I also spoke for a bit with singer-songwriter Sevyn Streeter about how Mary can connect with every single emotion through her music and she named “As I Am” as the one song that uplifts her.

“I don’t care if you are a woman and you want to cry about something, or you want to go celebrate with your girls, or you want to remind yourself who you are, you want to look in the mirror and say, ‘Hello, gorgeous,’” she told me. “I think that’s just the power and the beauty of Mary J. Blige.”

Strength Of A Woman Festival is expected to return to Atlanta every spring, and it’s exciting to think of where they might go from here.

Baby Tate is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

Uproxx was hosted for this event by Pepsi. However, Pepsi did not review or approve this story. You can learn more about the Uproxx Press Trip policy here.