Music

These Photos Show Sol Blume Festival Is A Dream Escape For R&B And Hip-Hop Lovers

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Sol Blume Festival
Photo by Dante Nicholas // Ralph Ordaz

This past weekend, Sol Blume festival returned to Sacramento, CA for the time since 2019. Held at Discovery Park – with its sweeping 300-acre riverfront grounds – the third edition of the festival saw a powerful, all-female headlining bill in Jazmine Sullivan, Jorja Smith, Summer Walker and Jhene Aiko.

In recent years, we’ve seen lineup figures cross the 30 percent mark of female-led acts on the bill, but that number seldom affects the headlining slate, which is typically dominated by male artists. Some festivals recently made it a priority to feature female-led acts in at least half of the bill, but when it comes to hip-hop/R&B, that effort is generally negligible. Sol Blume is (hopefully) pioneering a new trend in booking multiple women to headline festivals across all genres.

Day 1 of the festival kicked off with perfect weather and R&B stars like Ravyn Lenae, Lauren Jauregui, and Lucky Daye. West Coast rappers Buddy and D Smoke brought some balancing hip-hop energy across the two festival stages before DVSN, Majid Jordan, Alina Baraz, Jazmine Sullivan, and Jorja Smith took over for some nighttime, sing-along R&B vibes. Sol Blume producers made a note to make sure none of the set times overlapped across the two stages, so ticket holders truly got their money’s worth being able to catch every act on their wish list.

Day 2’s energy was just as high as Day 1, with West Coast stars like Rexx Life Raj, Victoria Monet, Tinashe, BLXST, and Syd packing Discovery Park and priming the thousands in attendance for two of R&B’s biggest stars of today: Summer Walker and Jhene Aiko.

Check out our photo recap of Sol Blume below.

Sol Blume Festival Crowd
Sol Blume // Photo by Dante Nicholas
jazmine sullivan sol blume
Jazmine Sullivan // Photo by Dante Nicholas
Jorja Smith sol Blume
Jorja Smith // Photo by Dante Nicholas
Summer Walker Sol Blume
Summer Walker // Photo by Dante Nicholas
Jhene Aiko sol blume
Jhene Aiko // Photo by Dante Nicholas
buddy sol blume
Buddy // Photo by Dante Nicholas
Sol Blume Festival Crowd
Sol Blume // Photo by Dante Nicholas
Kiana Lede
Kiana Lede // Photo by Dante Nicholas
Lucky Daye sol blume
Lucky Daye // Photo by Dante Nicholas
D Smoke sol blume sol blume
D Smoke // Photo by Dante Nicholas
DVSN sol Blume
DVSN // Photo by Dante Nicholas
Tinashe
Tinashe // Photo by Dante Nicholas
Sinead Harnett
Sinead Harnett // Photo by Dante Nicholas
blxst sol blume
Blxst // Photo by Dante Nicholas
Lauren Jauregui sol blume
Lauren Jauregui // Photo by Dante Nicholas
Rexx Life Raj
Rexx Life Raj // Photo by Dante Nicholas
Victoria Monet
Victoria Monet // Photo by Dante Nicholas
Lauren Jauregui
Lauren Jauregui // Photo by Dante Nicholas
Rexx Life Raj sol blume
Rexx Life Raj // Photo by Dante Nicholas
Foushee
Foushee // Photo by Dante Nicholas

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

Drake Reportedly Signed A New Deal With Universal Music Group For $400 Million

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drake bet
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The biggest star in hip-hop just made the biggest move of his career. Variety reports that Drake has signed a new deal with Universal Music Group that could be worth up to $400 million. During a first-quarter earnings call, the company’s chairman Sir Lucian Grainge announced the deal, which is described as an “expansive, multi-faceted” endeavor “that encompasses recordings, publishing, merchandise, and visual media projects.” Drake had completed the deal in 2021 but it looks like he won’t be taking Russ’ advice anytime soon after re-upping for a “Lebron-sized” payday, which Variety’s sources say could reach that above-mentioned figure.

Drake’s signing follows the announcement of a similar deal by his Toronto compatriot The Weeknd (who may soon be going by just Abel). Earlier this year, it was reported that The Weeknd had also signed a similar expansion of his prior deal with Republic (a subsidiary of Universal) which would likewise cover “recorded music, publishing, merchandise, and video.” These deals have become quite popular, according to Variety, as a way for major labels to keep the industry’s biggest stars under their umbrellas as technological advances and cultural shifts have begun enticing more and more artists to strike out on their own outside the label system (i.e. Russ).

Even among those who haven’t commanded the sort of mind-boggling streaming success Drake has, bigger deals are keeping rappers like Lil Durk and Trippie Redd closer to home. Not for nothing, Trippie Redd’s label, TenThousand Projects, is also a subsidiary of Universal, while Durk’s imprint, Alamo, is under Sony. If the major labels are throwing around this kind of money (while buying up pieces of the various DSPs), it looks like their continued dominance over the music industry will remain assured for some time to come.

Vince Staples’ Dream-Like ‘When Sparks Fly’ Video Depicts A Dangerous Love Affair

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Only a few days ago, Vince Staples announced the premiere of a new visual project, Ramona Park Broke My Heart: The Musical, streaming performances from his new album live this week via Moment House. Now that the streams have passed, Vince is sharing snippets for fans in the form of music videos capturing his live performances. The first is “When Sparks Fly,” the standout from Ramona Park Broke My Heart that recounts a doomed love affair between a boy and his gun.

The video sees Vince sprawled on a bus stop bench in front of a flower shop, laying his head in the lap of a woman. Both remain motionless for the duration of the video, while the camera captures them from multiple angles and Vince raps the tragic romance of “When Sparks Fly,” which is told from the perspective of the gun. It’s the perfect antidote to the problem he noted earlier this year. “I think they see the money in the violence,” he said of record labels, decrying the glamorization of violence during an interview with Peter Rosenberg. “When Sparks Fly” depicts the consequences of a life lived on the edge and points out the cyclical nature of that violence, making it sound exactly as devastating as it really is.

During the live show, Vince also performed his entire new album, including “Magic!” and “Rose Street,” as well as tracks from across his catalog.

Watch Vince Staples’ “When Sparks Fly” video from Ramona Park Broke My Heart: The Musical above.

Kendrick Lamar’s ‘Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers’ Might Be A Double Album

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For the past six months, rap fans have been forced to speculate about Kendrick Lamar’s upcoming final album under his Top Dawg Entertainment contract, with little concrete information about the project (other than its elaborate title) to go on. Today though, Kendrick dropped another cryptic clue about Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers, suggesting that it might be a double album. Fans checking in on the website he set up to promote the album, oklama.com, found a new folder to click on, leading to an image of a pair of CDs marked “Morale” and “Steppers” bearing the legend “Master Copy” on each along with a hardcover book bearing the album’s title.

Anyone who’s burned a mix CD in their lifetime (so basically anyone born before the year 1996) knows that CDs contain around 74 minutes of space or around 21 tracks. Obviously, most CDs never used the full capacity, but to go over that time limit (or even inching too close to it) meant separating the songs across two discs. Now, I’m not saying that this means Kendrick’s next album is going to be the length of a Marvel movie, but we should probably expect a longer project. It’s also projected to pull down huge numbers — as befits Kung-Fu Kenny’s swan song for the label that has developed his career for the past decade and a half.

As Kendrick inches closer to its release date (the only other solid bit of information we have right now), more details will undoubtedly be revealed at oklama.com. Until then, the speculation continues.

Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers is due on May 13 on TDE and Interscope.

Jack Harlow’s ‘Come Home, The Kids Miss You’ Boasts Collabs With Justin Timberlake And Lil Wayne

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Jack Harlow Met Gala 2022
Getty Image / Theo Wargo/Wireimage

Just days ahead of the release of Jack Harlow‘s sophomore album, Come Home, The Kids Miss You, Harlow has revealed the tracklist. Among the 15 tracks are the previously released “Nail Tech,” and the Fergie-sampling “First Class,” which, upon its release, became Harlow’s first solo Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 hit.

Come Home, The Kids Miss You features an impressive set of collaborators, including Drake, Lil Wayne, Pharrell Williams, and Justin Timberlake. While Dua Lipa herself isn’t featured on the album, there is a track called “Dua Lipa.” This song is most likely the one Harlow teased on social media over the weekend, on which Harlow raps, “Dua Lipa, I’m trying to do more with her than do a feature.”

Check out the full tracklist below.

1. “Talk Of The Town”
2. “Young Harleezy”
3. “I’d Do Anything To Make You Smile”
4. “First Class”
5. “Dua Lipa”
6. “Side Piece”
7. “Movie Star” Feat. Pharrell Williams
8. “Lil Secret”
9. “I Got A Shot”
10. “Churchill Downs” Feat. Drake
11. “Like A Blade Of Grass”
12. “Parent Trap” Feat. Justin Timberlake
13. “Poison” Feat. Lil Wayne
14. “Nail Tech”
15. “State Fair”

Come Home, The Kids Miss You is out 5/6 via Atlantic. Pre-save it here.

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

Cardi B Shares A Billie Eilish Voice Message To Address Rumors Of Met Gala Beef Between Them

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Cardi B 2022 Met Gala
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The 2022 Met Gala went down yesterday and it seemed to go off without incident: Lizzo played a $55,000 flute, SZA teased new music, Phoebe Bridgers had some people thinking she shaved her head, and all in all, it seemed like a good time was had. It was after the actual gala, though, that some apparent beef surfaced.

Cardi B performed at an after-party and while speaking to her audience, she encouraged them to have fun, get some drinks, and although she didn’t say the last one out loud, the motion she made with her hand suggested she was encouraging use of nasally ingested drugs. After that moment, while Cardi was performing, Billie Eilish was filmed looking around and telling somebody, “This is so weird,”

So, it appeared to some that Eilish had an issue with Cardi, or at least with her performance. Now, though, Cardi has cleared the air on Twitter by sharing audio messages she and Eilish shared over Instagram after the event.

In one, Eilish says, “Oh my god, I was so worried you were going to see that: I was f*cking calling the people around you weird because everybody was coming up to you and shoving their phones into your ass! And I was like, ‘Just look at her with your eyes!’” Cardi responded with a message, saying in a fake-crying voice, “Internet’s trying to divide us. They don’t understand that you’re my baby!”

Cardi also captioned her tweet, “I hate the internet cause one, how do y’all turn one of the most lit parties into drama? Two, Ocean eyes is the song I cater to my daughter. Three,Billie is my f*ckin baby.Yesterday, from the met to the party, everything was drama free. Why do yallwanna turn everything into mess?”

Listen to the messages below.

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

Jack Harlow Didn’t See ‘White Men Can’t Jump’ Until He Was Cast In The Remake

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jack harlow met gala
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While on the red carpet at the Met Gala last night, Jack Harlow was asked about his role in the upcoming remake of the classic basketball comedy White Men Can’t Jump. In reply, he admitted that he never actually watched the original until after he was cast in the remake, which means it took him a FULL YEAR to do so after I brought it up in my interview with him ahead of his two-on-two game at NBA All-Star 2021 (did I manifest the remake happening? I don’t know. I’m happy to take credit).

“Can I be honest?” he confessed in response to a Vogue reporter’s question about whether he was familiar with the source material. “I was obviously familiar with it, it’s an iconic title and I’ve seen the movie poster, but I didn’t watch it until I got offered the role. I see why it’s a classic.”

And while news of Harlow’s casting met mixed reviews on social media, his performance in this year’s NBA All-Star Celebrity Game showed he’s got the range for the role — literally, as he hit multiple 25-footers, despite some wonky shooting form. Meanwhile, there was plenty of interest in his on-screen partner, with everyone from Drake to Quavo being suggested for the role. However, the Wesley Snipes to Harlow’s Woody Harrelson will be played by Sinqua Wells from The Breaks, Friday Night Lights, and Teen Wolf. Meanwhile, Jack himself might just be hitting up his old buddy Tyler Herro for some pointers, since he now knows just what he has to live up to.

Tyler The Creator Explains The Importance Of DJ Drama’s ‘Gangsta Grillz’ Mixtapes For Nardwuar

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Whenever Tyler The Creator bumps into Nardwuar, the results are always spectacular. While Nardwuar’s interviews with rappers are often revealing — or at least, exciting — the Canadian radio personality has developed a special rapport with the Los Angeles-based star over the course of several wild interviews. In their last meetup, Tyler talked about his musical growth and Justin Bieber’s armpit hair. This time, though, there are new matters to discuss along with Tyler’s Grammy-winning new album, Call Me If You Get Lost.

Nardwuar presents T with a couple of copies of DJ Drama‘s Gangsta Grillz mixtapes (on CD!) as a reference to the rapper’s new album. CMIYGL, while not bearing the Gangsta Grillz title, is presented as a pseudo entry into the series canon, with Drama providing his usual ad-libs and catchphrases throughout. In turn, Tyler breaks down the importance of the mixtape series, which was most recently expanded by Dreamville’s D-Day.

“Rap music used to be super regional, so back in like 2005/2006, if you came across it, it was because of the internet,” Tyler elaborates. “During that time, it was so much Wayne and Tip… Mixtapes at that time were so important… So many important pieces of music that were put out because of the weird label politics and DJ Drama was the head of one of the most important mixtape series of all time that really helped shape how a lot of people make music — including me.”

Elsewhere in the interview, Tyler gives his take on furry hats, makes Jasper Dolphin do one of his signature on-stage dances, and explains how he stays in shape to perform for two hours at his incredible live shows.

Blxst Announces The ‘Before You Go’ Global Headlining Tour For 2022

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Blxst 2022
Courtesy of Live Nation

Still hot off the release of his debut album Before You Go, singer Blxst is going on a worldwide tour. During the 46-date global trek, the “Chosen” singer will perform several shows across North America, and some in the UK, Germany, and Australia.

Hailing from LA, Blxst has created an impressive resume for himself. His music has pulled in over one billion streams on Spotify, and he recently won Best New Artist Of The Year at the 2022 XXL Awards.

General on-sale begins Friday, May 6.

Check out the tour dates below.

07/08 — Birmingham, UK @ Wireless Festival
07/09 — London, UK @ Wireless Festival
07/13 — San Diego, CA @ Casoma
07/14 — Anaheim, CA @ House Of Blues
07/16 — Sacramento, CA @ Ace Of Spades
07/17 — San francisco, CA @ The Masonic
07/18 — Santa Cruz, CA @ The Catalyst
07/20 — Vancouver, BC @ Commodore Ballroom
07/21 — Portland, OR @ Roseland Theater
07/23 — Seattle, WA @ Showbox Sodo
07/27 — Minneapolis, MN @ Varsity Theater
07/30 — Chicago, IL @ Lollapalooza
08/01 — Cleveland, OH @ House Of Blues
08/02 — Detroit, MI @ St. Andrew’s Hall
08/04 — Toronto, ON @ History
08/05 — Montreal, QC @ Corona Theatre
08/06 — Boston, MA @ House Of Blues
08/08 — New York, NY @ The Rooftop @ Pier 17
08/09 — Silver Spring, MD @ The Fillmore
08/10 — Philadelphia, PA @ Theatre Of Living Arts
08/12 — Charlotte, NC @ The Underground
08/13 — Nashville, TN @ Brooklyn Bowl
08/14 — Atlanta, GA @ Tabernacle
08/16 — Orlando, FL @ The Beacham
08/17 — Fort lauderdale, FL @ Revolution
08/19 — New Orleans, LA @ House Of Blues
08/20 — Dallas, TX @ House Of Blues
08/22 — Houston, TX @ House Of Blues
08/23 — Austin, TX @ Emo’s
08/25 — Denver, CO @ Summit
08/26 — Salt Lake City, UT @ The Depot
08/28 — Las Vegas, NV @ House Of Blues
08/30 — Tempe, AZ @ Marquee Theatre
08/31 — Los Angeles, CA @ Hollywood Palladium
09/27 — Auckland, New Zealand @ Studio The Venue
09/28 — Sydney, Australia @ Metro Theatre
09/30 — Melbourne, Australia @ 170 russell
10/02 — Gold Coast, Australia @ Promiseland Festival
11/02 — Copenhagen, Denmark Dr. Koncerthuset Studie 2
11/03 — Hamburg, Germany @ Mojo Club
11/05 — Cologne, Germany @ Die Kantine
11/06 — Frankfurt, Germany @ Gibson Club
11/07 — Berlin, Germany @ Metropol
11/09 — Amsterdam, Netherlands @ Melkweg
11/10 — Paris, France @ Fvtvr
11/15 — Dublin, Ireland @ The Academy Green Room

Nicki Minaj Returns To The Met Gala, Where She Threatens To ‘Slap The Sh*t’ Out Of A Reporter

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After skipping last year’s Met Gala due to its COVID-19 vaccine protocols, Nicki Minaj made her return to the charity event last night. According to Mediaite, the “We Go Up” rapper wore an all-black gown designed by Burberry chief creative officer Riccardo Tisci with a leather baseball cap. However, despite the triumph of her return, it wasn’t without drama, as Nicki encountered and confronted a reporter who had apparently leaked what was supposed to have been a surprise for her fans.

Stopping halfway up the steps to the Metropolitan Museum Of Art, Nicki pointed out the offending journalist, saying, “Hey, you. Are you the man that leaked that I was gonna be here?” After confirming that he was the culprit, she growled, “About to come up to you and slap the sh*t out of you. Come here.” While she (apparently) didn’t follow through, the message came through loud and clear.

Nicki doesn’t play around with her planned surprises. When Coi Leray’s dad Benzino leaked that Nicki would appear on the younger rapper’s new single “Blick Blick,” she nearly pulled the plug on the whole collaboration, only relenting later. Given her playful rapport with her loyal fans, the Barbz, she doesn’t seem to want to deprive them of the full experience — surprises and all (she must hate Marvel spoilers!).

As for why she missed last year’s Met Gala, it’s probably better not to rehash that potentially embarrassing chapter. You never know, I might run into Nicki and be the next writer she threatens to beat up.